Ex-Karnataka minister Janardhana Reddy used fake permits from AP to carry out illegal mining operations

October 10, 2013

Janardhana_ReddyBangalore, Oct 10: It's rather ironic that former Karnataka tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy is cooling his heels in Hyderabad's Chanchalguda prison, considering that it was close business links with Andhra Pradesh that brought him untold riches.

Reddy, who controlled a three-tier system spanning the entire operation of illegal iron ore mining from excavation to the wharfs of Belekeri port, used fake permits from Andhra Pradesh to carry out his operations.

"Reddy's associates, including Swastik Nagaraj and Kharapudi Mahesh, were delivering envelopes containing fake permits of the Andhra Pradesh department of mines and geology, forest permits, invoices, et al for the transportation of illegal ore to Belekeri port during January 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010," according to a chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) before the special CBI court here.

The document reveals that racketeers created firms, including Shafia Minerals, Manjunatheswara Minerals, in the names of their employees and relatives and printed invoices in their names which they used to give to trucks carrying illegal material, along with fake permits.

"Such firms were opened at the behest of Janardhana Reddy and his personal assistant Mehfuz Ali Khan and huge amounts were routed through the accounts of the said firms...which finally reached Reddy," the CBI has charged.

Pointing out that Ali Khan, Reddy's main accomplice, was managing excavation, weighing and dispatch of illegally extracted ore from various mines, CBI sources said Khan would threaten mine owners and forcibly take away ore they'd mined.

"He was also threatening officials from the forest department, DMG and police among others when they raised objections against illegal extraction/transportation of ore carried out on behalf of Reddy," the chargesheet says.

Janardhana Reddy was not only illegally mining iron ore but extorted money from others involved in the trade. His aides Khan, Mahesh and Nagaraj were in charge of collecting money from trucks carrying ore mined illegally by others. "They collected about Rs 200 per MT (tonne) from each truck carrying illegally extracted ore for arranging safe passage of the trucks for transit to Belekeri," the chargesheet says.

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March 24,2020

Gautam Buddh Nagar, Mar 24: As many as 96 First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered and more than 2000 challans issued in Noida yesterday for violation of lockdown rules, police said. The lockdown was imposed in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus, which has taken more than 14000 lives across the globe.

The FIRs were registered against people for allegedly flouting Section 144 and not adhering to the orders of the state government for staying indoors.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday stated that all borders adjoining Uttar Pradesh should be completely sealed.

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News Network
July 12,2020

New Delhi, Jul 12: With the highest single-day spike of 28,637 new cases and 551 deaths being reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 count reached 8,49,553 on Sunday.

According to the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry, this includes 2,92,258 active cases, and 5,34,621 cured and discharged or migrated patients. The toll due to the disease has reached 22,674 in the country.

Maharashtra with 2,46,600 cases continues to be the worst affected state by COVID-19 in the country. The state has 99,499 active cases while 1,36,985 patients have been cured and discharged so far. The death toll due to the disease now stands at 10,116.

Tamil Nadu with 1,34,226 cases, including 46,413 active ones, is the next worst affected in the country. While the number of cured and discharged patients is at 85,915 in the state, the toll due to the disease is at 1,898.

The national capital has recorded 1,10,921 confirmed cases so far. However, the number of active cases in Delhi is at 19,895 and 87,692 patients have been cured and discharged so far. With 3,334 deaths being reported due to COVID-19 in the city. 

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February 29,2020

Feb 29: The "Dadi of Shaheenbagh" on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not understand the pain of losing children, as speakers at an anti-CAA rally here called on protesters to maintain peace and not give in to any provocation.

Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, said that the battle is not for a day or two, but the protesters will have to be prepared to continue it for years to come.

Asma Khatoon, who has earned fame as the "Dadi of Shaheenbagh" in Delhi, asked how can a person take care of the whole country when he cannot maintain his own family.

"He would have realised how it feels to lose a child if he had his own children," she told a gathering at the Park Circus Maidan, which is being termed as the Shaheenbagh of Kolkata with women holding a sit-in for the last 53 days to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, proposed nationwide NRC, and the NPR.

The death toll Delhi's communal violence has gone up to 42.

She said it is not biryani that has attracted women to the protest at Shaheen bagh while holding that such vilification campaigns will have no effect on the agitation.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh has claimed that "uneducated men and women" are protesting at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh and Kolkata's Park Circus as they get money and biryani purchased with foreign funds.

"Home Minister Amit Shah has called 20 protesters to meet him, but I want to tell him that we are one lakh and I want him to mention the place where he wants us to go for the meeting," she said.

Tushar Gandhi said, "People should stay united and not give in to any provocation," he said.

Gandhi said that the people of West Bengal are lucky to have Mamata Banerjee as their chief minister.

"They will try to break her also and it is necessary that you continue to give her support," he said.

Gandhi claimed that no one can harm a country where its mothers and sisters come out to save it.

He claimed that the CAA is not about Hindus or Muslims, but will really affect the poor people, who will be made to run around to get their papers instead of earning for their basic and daily needs.

"It's a dichotomous government that we have at the Centre. On the one hand, they want us to provide documents to prove our citizenship, while on the other they refuse to accept the papers that one produces before it for the purpose," he said.

He claimed that the government is forcing its people to resort to lies and declare that they are political refugees from countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Gandhi claimed that time and again documents with the government like electoral rolls and land documents have been used to identify people of certain communities during riots.

"So it is dangerous to give too much information to the government," he said.

He called on the people to have faith in non-violence and asked them to maintain peace and harmony.

B R Ambedkar's great-grandson Rajratna Ambedkar claimed that it is the Adivasis who will also be affected by the CAA.

"I want to tell Modi and Shah that the country runs on the Constitution by Ambedkar and not M S Golwalkar (of RSS)," he said, adding that because of the rights conferred on people by the Constitution, those backward people who did not have the right to sit on a bullock cart are now flying jet planes.

He said that Modi and Shah committed an error by enacting the CAA as it has turned the people of the country into Indians only, instead of Hindus, Muslims, Christians or Sikhs.

"Every machinery of the country has been taken control of by the RSS. If one Modi or one Shah goes, they will bring in several more Modi or Shah," he said.

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